It's a great day for the state of Nebraska. The new arena that was approved for Lincoln should add a great venue for Nebraska to attend events for many years to come. Traveling from Holdrege to Lincoln takes only two and half hours. We could be talking NCAA men and women's basketball tournaments of significance, top entertainers, and possibly even a Final Four in Lincoln. The sky is the limit. Nebraskans don't have a lot of top venues to watch these type of events. I would rather travel to Lincoln vs. Omaha just because of the less travel time.
The first year of basketball will be 2013-14. Some of the basketball players with four years of eligibility will get to play in the new arena. How exciting. One of the attraction is that after the game, you will have the opportunity to go eat and enjoy your time vs. the present situation of finding another place to park after you leave Devaney. This should be great for Lincoln. This will be great for Nebraskans.
Sounds like Bob Devaney will stay, at least for a while. The University needs this complex for track, swimming, and basketball practices. It was stated today that the University will spend $20 million for improvements. Parking is one need that will be improved.
The rumors are that Nebraska has been asked to join the Big 10 to make it the Big 14 or 15. Missouri, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Notre Dame were rumored to be the four teams of interest. Both Nebraska and the Big 10 deny the rumors. This whole thing gives the press an fans something to talk about. Next week there will be new rumors.
If it is true, should Nebraska go to the Big Ten Conference? I am a traditionalist and I don't care for change. The Big 12 and SEC are the main conferences in the Big 12. What happens if Texas would go to the SEC? I am not sure, but it would hurt the status of the Big 12. That's a question, if answered, would make the decision to move much easier.
The Big 10's status, in my opinion has dropped in basketball and football the past several years. Would we be making an improvement by moving to them? Yes, it is said that we could make another $5 to $10 million in TV income annually with the Big 10. How about the Big 12 getting with it and get better TV deals. They are a much superior conference in talent.
Nebraska would be hurt in football and possibly in basketball in recruiting. Texas has become a main area of recruiting and relationships have been built but what happens when NU is not on TV in Texas much anymore? How will recruiting be? Realistically, our main area of recruiting will be where the kids can see us on TV and that is in the Big 10 cities. Maybe we can play a bigger role in Ohio and Pennsylvania in recruiting. Hard to know.
I hope the Big 12 can market themselves better and improve the TV revenue. They need to get a long-term commitment from the key schools Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska. I am sure there is a debate as to who the key schools are but these four teams would make a great nucleus. The Big 12 has to take advantage of what they already have. There is no need to go somewhere else.
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